Don’t Expect to See a ‘Bridesmaids’ Sequel

When ScreenCrush made a list of the 25 best comedies of the last 25 years, Bridesmaids ranked number three. It also grossed $169 million in theaters, a very strong number for a film not based on an existing property, and better than “bigger” movies that wound up getting sequels like X-Men: First Class, Kung Fu Panda 2, The Smurfs, and Horrible Bosses. So why not a Bridesmaids sequel? The movie is beloved, with a cast (including Melissa McCarthy, who became a breakout star thanks to the original movie) who’ve only gotten more famous in the intervening years.

Variety asked Bridesmaids director Paul Feig that very question this week at the premiere of his new movie, A Simple Favor. He said you shouldn’t hold your breath, and he actually had a really good explanation why a Bridesmaids 2 just wouldn’t work.

“I don’t know if there will be one honestly. That movie worked so well because it was about a woman having a crisis in her life and fixing it. So you don’t want her to have another crisis.”

Yes, Bridesmaids was partly a hit because it was so funny. But it also resonated with people because it was a comedy with some actual stakes, and characters who you really come to care about as they evolve over the course of the film. It would actually be kind of sad to watch Annie (Kristen Wiig) lose her crap all over again. It would almost be an act of fictional cruelty.

A Simple Favor opens in theaters this Friday. There’s a new Paul Feig movie coming out in three days? Why aren’t more people talking about this?